M is for . . . Merry Christmas from the Mount!

As we lead into crunch time of the holiday season you may be, like many of us, running around doing last minute stops at the mall and trying to get all of your stocking stuffers bought. If you make it into the Halifax Shopping Centre don't forget to look up to see the gigantic Mount Saint Vincent University poster!

The Mount loves the holiday season and the students and staff enjoy taking advantage of the opportunities to give back to our community. This year staff from the Admissions Office, Registrar's Office and Financial Services Office all dug deep and donated an overwhelming amount clothes, games, toys, household items, groceries, etc. for a local family.

The students like to get in on the giving too - this year the the Student Alumnae Association organized an Angel Tree project for the Mount community to be involved in. As Krista Armstrong, the Program Coordinator for Alumnae Relations, said: "The response from the Mount community has been staggering. Through donations from Mount students, societies, staff, faculty, alumnae and friends, we have (so far) collected 6+ big boxes of toys, gifts and donations for needy children in the Halifax area . . . We have been blown away by your support…we even had to call the Salvation Army for more gift tags! With 70 tags distributed, at least 70 kids will have a better Christmas this year thanks to your generosity."

The Mount also has a huge campaign to raise funds for the United Way each year and the Christmas season marks the end of each year's campaign. Our goal was to raise $20,000 this year and, while we won't get the official number until later today, I have been assured that we have exceeded this goal by a substantial amount through staff and student contributions!

We are proud of the Mount's tradition of social justice and giving back to our communities. We would like to wish all of you a happy holiday season and a joyous new year!